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Lots of potential as downtown looks east and west

Over the next few years, our perception of downtown is likely to change as a result of major initiatives east and west of the Landmark Historic District.

On Friday, the Housing Authority of Savannah selected Melaver Inc. to work with other corporate partners to redevelop the Fellwood Homes site just across the viaduct on West Bay Street.

I doubt many of my readers have driven around much in the neighborhood of which Fellwood is a part, but it has enormous upside potential. It has some modest, sturdily built, very affordable houses, some of which have nice yards.

And the relatively quiet streets belie its convenient location.

It's just a short trip over the viaduct, but there's also an easy route to the Historic District via Louisville Road, which connects the neighborhood to SCAD buildings as well as the Roundhouse complex.

It seems to me that the project is a sort of grand experiment. If it's a success, the whole neighborhood one day could be high-density, mixed-income, mixed-use and mixed-race.

Over on the other side of downtown is the impending Savannah River Landing north of President Street on the east side of the Marriott. We should be hearing a lot more about that project in the coming weeks.

I've written a few times lately about how eerily quiet downtown has been in recent weeks and about the ongoing need for greater population density.

If done well, both of these projects - however different they may be - have the potential to bring large numbers of residents and workers into neighborhoods next to the Historic District.

That will be good news for many downtown businesses.

For those of us who are concerned - even alarmed - by the continued building of hotels, the developments at both Fellwood and Savannah River Landing could result in more local people being able to enjoy the pleasures of downtown, one of the most beautiful places in the country.

Plus, simple geography suggests that both projects represent a smarter, more logical kind of development than we have seen in recent years. Instead of sprawling farther and farther into the county, Fellwood and Savannah River Landing have the potential for concentrating people near the city's core.

That means less costly maintenance of roads and utilities, fewer problems related to traffic on a handful of southside corridors and less impact on the natural environment.

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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER, Okinawa, Japan — Marine Corps Captain James E. Frederick, who ejected from a Marine F/A-18 on Dec. 7, was pronounced dead after his body was found during search and rescue operations.